Press Release Optimization Checklist and Tips

Press release optimization doesn’t get the attention it once did, at least within the SEO community. But a considerable number of releases are distributed over the wires and added to online pressrooms every day, so it is still an important tactic for PR professionals. Why wouldn’t you try to increase the search engine visibility of your press materials?

Last week I needed to dust off a press release optimization checklist that I’d written several years ago, so I thought I’d share it here.

But since SEO and PR are my main areas of focus I thought I’d share my version as well.

I’d originally put this together in 2006; I found it interesting that there wasn’t too much I needed to update. Some of the research tools have changed but the fundamentals for optimizing the headline, body text and links are largely the same.

One thing I want to emphasize is not to put too much focus on keyword frequency or density in the release. You certainly want your target keyword phrase in the title and it should appear within the body too (ideally in the opening paragraph). But there’s no need to get caught up in making sure it appears X times or represents X% of all words.

Press Release Optimization Checklist

Keyword Planning

1. Select the target keyword phrase for the press release

Brand and product/service names will be naturally supported so choose a literal, descriptive phrase that matches how people search for the topic

Use keyword research tools such as Google AdWords Keyword Tool to evaluate and refine candidates and discover popular variations. Look for keyword phrases with reasonable search volume that accurately convey the key concept

Check what news stories and press releases currently come up for your top candidates in Google News and Yahoo News. How much competition is there?

Use Google Trends to compare keyword candidates, seeing how often they have been searched for in Google over time and how frequently they have appeared in Google News stories

Content Optimization

1. Title/headline

Include the target keyword phrase in the press release title

2. Subheading/summary (when present)

Include the target phrase or a common variation as appropriate

3. Body

Include the main keyword phrase in the first paragraph, ideally in the first sentence

A limited number of additional mentions, as appropriate, are helpful. The key is to blend in keyword support without harming readability. This should not be a major focus

Total length: 250-500 words total is optimal, however longer releases are often necessary and not a problem

Comments

This is one area that it comes in handy to have keywords in the company title, since a press release title often begins with the company name. While keywords are important, you never want to force it. Readability should always be the priority. You don’t want to submit something that looks spammy.

Great suggestions about how to do your keyword research for your press release! Though one has to agree with Nick, the keywords are of course important but readability has to come first. If you stuff the press release with too many keywords and phrases you could make your release a mumbled mess too hard to read or understand.

Awesome post, Adam! A few additional suggestions from the SEO field (hope you don’t mind):

1. Most importantly, don’t write for search engines, write for humans. Search engines are almost human-like today.
2. Pick one main keyword phrase per page, and 3 supporting words (e.g. main: Kobe Bryant, and supporting: Lakers, Staples Center, and Mike Brown).
3. Watch for the “volcanic” trending keywords in Google Trends (also, add GTrends and GInsights widgets to your iGoogle page so that you’re informed daily).
4. Try to avoid bolded keywords, it doesn’t add to the readability of an article.
5. Make certain keywords anchored text (linking to another page) but ONLY if it adds value to the article. For example,
6. If you’re going to talk about it, SHOW IT. For example, Randall was accused for his “infamous tweet,” or “…wearing a very unflattering dress!”
7. Google the phrase: “on page report card” and use the first tool you see from SEOmoz, to see how “optimized” your page is for your main keyword.
8. Create Google alert for news events before they happen and you’ll likely break the news before others (“kardashian court settlement”, “kate middleton baby girl”, etc…)

Lastly, make it sharable! If it’s a great page (which I’m sure it is) it should have the capacity to be shared with others on social networks. Thanks- @RoDr1g0